


The Story of Justin Oluransi

by Alittlefandominmylife



Series: OMGCP Fairy Tales [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, M/M, Snow White - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 17:39:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10470462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alittlefandominmylife/pseuds/Alittlefandominmylife
Summary: Justin Oluransi is fairest by far, and the evil queen who rules the land plots to kill him.(A story about the nefarious plans of an evil queen trying to stick to European beauty standards and how accounting can save the day.)





	

One upon a time in a far away land, there lived an evil queen who woke up every morning and addressed her magic mirror with a question.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” she would ask, and day after day the mirror would reply:

“You are fairer far than anyone in all the land.”

Hearing this pleased the queen immensely and she was content to live with such a response for years and year. The queen was much disposed to frivolity, and she enjoyed holding huge balls and buying new clothes or commissioning statues and paintings so she could be surrounded by her own beauty.

But one day as she woke up and spoke to her mirror, the answer changed. This time when she asked who was fairest of them all the mirror said:

“Justin Oluransi is fairer far than anyone in all the land.”

The queen was outraged! How could anyone surpass her beauty? How could anyone be fairer far than herself? She demanded the mirror show her this boy, and an image of Justin Oluransi appeared in the glass. He was just a simple peasant boy, but he was young and strong with a smile that lit up any room, and more beautiful still was the heart that spread kindness and gentleness everywhere he walked. He was friends with people and animals alike, giving his time and devoting himself to helping anyone who should ask.

Seeing this the evil queen came up with a devious plan. She would send a hunter out into the woods with this boy, and when they were gone far away from the castle, the hunter would drive his knife into the boy’s heart. Then she would resume being fairest in the land and all would be well in her kingdom again.

When word came that there was a passing hunter traveling through, the queen invited him to dine with her and regale her with the tales of his chase. She was so impressed with his stories and his manners that she set him to the task of killing the usurper of her beauty. The order was sent, and without hesitation the huntsman pulled Justin into the forest away from all civilization.

But along the trip the huntsman’s heart softened. He could find no fault with the young man who gave the crumbs of his food to the birds and sang so beautifully, and he simply couldn’t see how anyone could bring themselves to hurt someone so lovely and pure of heart. There was no way that the man he was guiding into the forest could be the criminal the queen described. At the last minute, the huntsman told Justin of the plot against him and he urged Justin to flee and escape with his life.

As he watched Justin run deeper into the forest, there was nothing he could do but hope and pray for the young man to be safe. In his place, the huntsman killed a roe deer and cut out its heart, bringing it back to the queen. She was immensely pleased and rewarded him with a small pouch of gold before he bowed and carried on his way. He was long gone before the morning came.

When the queen awoke the next morning and asked her mirror the usual question and to her surprise, the answer did not please her.

“Justin Oluransi is fairest far in all the land,” it replied.

The queen knew that moment she’d been tricked, and she began devising a devilish plan to rid herself of Justin Oluransi once and for all, even if she had to do it herself.

~

Unknown to the queen, Justin had gotten along well with the young huntsman who had asked for his guidance through the woods. They had talked about all manner of things and found themselves interested and attracted to one another, though both were too shy to say it outright.

“Will I ever see you again?” Justin asked even as the tall blond stranger was urging him to go.

“Yes. Yes I’d like that very much. Allow me to return to my kingdom and collect my knights so that we can protect you. Let me ensure that this queen will not trouble you again. And then I’ll come to find you. Continue along this path. It will take you to a small village where they will give you food and shelter. But you must be brave and you must be strong, Justin. I promise I’ll come back for you,” he insisted and turned to go.

“Wait! Kind huntsman, I do not even know your name,” Justin cried out and caught up to him, scared that the man might be trying to trick him to leave him in the forest to die.

“My name is Prince Adam Birkholtz. And I give you my word that I will find you again,” he insisted and leaned in for a kiss, delighted that Justin gave him one.

“Bro,” Justin and Adam whispered, knowing that kisses like this were the kind that promised good things to come.

“Good luck, my Prince,” Justin murmured and watched as Prince Adam disappeared into the forest in the direction they’d come.

When Prince Adam had disappeared in the trees, Justin continued along the path in the opposite direction. As night fell it became harder to find the trail and Justin took a wrong turn. The path became increasingly narrower and untamed. Several times he tripped over branches or rocks in the path, and when he finally came to the door of a house Justin was hungry and cold, wishing only for a place to rest his head. He knocked on the door and out stepped a man with luxurious flowing hair, naked from head to foot. Justin was a little startled, but he tried to be brave like his prince requested.

“Please, kind sir. I have run away from the queen who wishes to kill me. May I stay with you and I can help with chores and things in exchange until my prince returns?”

“Well of-fucking-course you can!” the man said, reaching out and pulling Justin inside muttering about capitalism and unfair taxation as well as social constructs of gender and power. Eventually he called down his friends from their rooms in the ‘Haus’ and they crowded around a green couch.

“Shitty what’s going on?” one of them asked.

“Well, Chowder, my happy little friend, this poor fucking soul is lost out in the woods, waiting for his prince to come back. So we’re going to keep him. He says he can help out with the chores and things until his prince comes back.” Shitty said and Justin thought that sounded more than agreeable.

“You can help me with my baking!” offered a bashful blond.

“And you can help us make the beds!” suggested a pair of friends, one very sleepy and the other who seemed to have a cold since he sneezed so much.

“I don’t think we need his help,” said one of the others, at which Shitty rolled his eyes.

“Of course you don’t, Mr. Grumpy-pants. But he still needs ours.” The tall dark haired man rolled his eyes and once Justin was given a set of sheets and blankets to cover the couch where he could sleep, his many new friends trudged back into their rooms to bed.

The next morning when Justin awoke, he stumbled into the kitchen to find the blond man there making breakfast.

“Oh! Hello. I umm… Would you like something to eat?” Bitty offered a little bashfully and gestured to the stack of pancakes.

“Bro! Thank you so much!” Justin grinned as he took a seat at the table. He talked with the chef- Bitty- and learned that the friends were all miners who lived in a remote part of the kingdom. Justin was a welcome addition to their group, and most days when the miners went off to work Justin stayed in the Haus to help Bitty with chores. Some days he went to work in the mine with his friends, digging out precious gems that sparkled in the light. Lardo would take the gems and she showed Justin how to polish them and sort them according to type and quality. Justin learned a great deal about sustainable industry and economics from Shitty and his friends, and by the end of the first week even Grumpy Jack was friendly with him.

When Justin stayed home alone waiting for his prince his friends were very worried about him. Their part of the kingdom contained lots of magic, and not all of it was used for making delicious pies or cutting gems. Some of the people who might come across the Haus had dark intentions. Grumpy Jack regaled a story about a group of brothers not far away and how he scared them away from the Haus to prevent their mischief.

“You must promise not to let anyone in the door while we are gone,” insisted his friends, and Justin nodded solemnly. He would be very careful about meeting strangers. After all, he didn’t want anything to come between himself and his prince.

~

Back in the castle upon its craggy cliffs the queen woke up, but did not ask her usual question. Instead she walked to the mirror with wicked intent.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, show me Justin Oluransi!” she demanded, and soon a picture of Justin sorting out the gems with Lardo appeared. Now the queen was not only jealous of Justin’s beauty, but also of the vast wealth he seemed to have acquired and the beautiful jewels he possessed.

Away swooped the queen, climbing the stairs into a tower where she performed her darkest magic. She pulled down her books and threw ingredients into her cauldron, mumbling and muttering spells and hateful words as she worked. She put her bitterness and anger into every step. The potion boiled and brewed for days until it was perfect, and when the queen reached in she pulled out an apple.

The apple was perfectly plump and vivid green, gorged on the envy the queen had for Justin’s beauty. The evil queen laughed, for she was certain that giving this apple to Justin would kill him, and then she would be the most beautiful in all the land once more. Next she fashioned herself a set of robes and disguised her face, using her magic to transport her into the woods. She could see the Haus in the distance, and as she approached she called out like a farm girl trying to sell her wares.

“Fresh apples! Fresh apples!” She called, her voice melodious and sweet. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” she added, giggling to herself knowing that once Justin took a bite of the apple, no doctor could save him.

Inside the Haus, Justin could hear the person outside while he washed and dried the laundry. With so many people in the Haus it was easy for things to pile up, and Justin liked to help as much as he could. While doing laundry he liked to air out the rooms and sing with the birds, making friends with all manner of kind woodland animals. Thus, when the evil queen’s voice floated in the window Justin was conflicted.

Knowing that he wasn’t supposed to let people inside, Justin decided he could buy the apples without letting anyone in and there would be no trouble. He went to his room and took one of the silver pieces he earned while helping in the mine and headed downstairs. “After all, Bitty could use fresh apples to make a wonderful pie, and that would make everyone happy,” he reasoned.

Justin hurried down the stairs and he pulled the door open, smiling at the young girl. She didn’t look dangerous, and buying local produce would help the economy- something Shitty would be pleased with him for doing.

“Excuse me, miss! I’d like to buy some apples please before you go to market,” he said, glad to see that she smiled and nodded.

“These are the very best. They were picked just this morning!” the evil queen said, offering one to Justin. “You can taste one if you’d like.”

Justin was immensely pleased. Bitty always tasted the fruits at the market so this must be safe, and he took the apple gladly, biting into it. Suddenly he felt quite awful! The apple was so bitter and had none of the loving flavor that Bitty’s pies contained. Surely this could not be what a good apple was supposed to taste like!

Justin looked over at the girl and to his horror, where there was once a young farm girl stood the evil queen! His friends had been right to warn him, but now he could not go back and change his actions. Justin dropped to the floor, the apple rolling out of his hand as he fell into a deep sleep, almost to death.

The queen cackled and returned to her castle tower dumping the other apples back into her cauldron. She raced down the tortuous stairs and into her room, her cloak billowing behind her.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall! Just who is the fairest of them all?”

Sadly, the mirror replied with her own reflection. “You my queen, are fairer far.”

The queen was delighted and she declared a ball to be thrown in honor of herself and her beauty. She put on her brightest gowns and her best jewels, thinking all the while to herself that indeed she had always been much better than poor Justin Oluransi.

~

When the miners returned to the Haus, they were stricken with horror and fear. How could Justin have been harmed? Had they not warned him enough about letting strangers in? When Bitty found the apple he hardly dared to pick it up, smelling the hatred that it was made with immediately.

Taking a bite of so much bitterness and hate would kill anyone, even those most pure of heart. Fearfully, Bitty asked if there was any chance Ransom might still be breathing.

Lardo knelt by his side and she looked up with tears in her eyes, telling the others in a sullen voice that he was dead. The friends mourned him deeply and they decided that this simply wouldn’t do. As much as they wished they could find Justin’s prince, they had no idea how to reach him.

With much sadness and many tears, the friends in the Haus collected up diamonds and gold, and they crafted a coffin as clear as glass and joined the pieces with gold filigree. They had a quiet service and none of the birds could bring themselves to sing while their friend had come to such an awful fate.

At the end of the service Lardo waved her hand and etched into the diamond read an epitaph: “Here lies Justin Oluransi- a true bro.”

Many days passed and though the autumn and winter came and went, Justin looked the same inside his diamond coffin, ever as beautiful as the first day he’d met the miners.

Word in the market was that the queen was in trouble. She’d run her kingdom into bankruptcy and the young king from a neighboring country had claimed her throne and charged her with many crimes for the mistreatment of her subjects. She was stripped of her power and locked deep in a dungeon where she could never hurt anyone ever again. While the miners were happy to hear this, it was bittersweet as it was still too late for their dear friend.

But one day there came the beating of many hooves as a king and his most valiant knights rode into their part of the forest. With time, Prince Adam had become king and taken over the lands of the evil queen. Adam jumped down from his horse and rushed to the door of the Haus.

“Please I’m looking for my friend, Justin,” he explained and when he was led to the back garden he wept at the sight before him. “I cannot live without my bro,” he cried, inconsolable. “Please at least let me kiss him goodbye.”

The friends were unsure about such a request, especially Shitty who gave King Adam a lecture on the importance of consent. Eventually; however, they were persuaded, and the top of the diamond case was removed. King Adam reached for Justin’s hand but before he could raise it to his lips for a kiss, Justin woke up!

While everyone was much surprised, one of Adam’s most loyal knights explained it thus:

The magic between two people who loved each other so deeply was more than strong enough to save Justin from a terrible death. The kiss he and Adam had shared in the forest as Justin escaped had been enough to give him some protection against evil, and Adam’s love kept him from ever truly being dead. As he was reunited with his love who kept such a powerful promise, the bitterness of the apple Justin had eaten was overwhelmed, and such love was truly something to live for; just as the narrative had foretold.

“Bro!” Justin and Adam said in loving unison once Sir Johnson had explained his theory.

King Adam explained that upon his return home he had looked into the best way to rid the world of the evil queen, and using his accounting skills he saw the huge debt on the kingdom. He used the debt to his advantage and took the kingdom as the evil queen’s most valuable asset to pay for the many goods and services she had taken.

There was much rejoicing on that day, and after several shared kisses, Adam and Justin agreed to be married. They invited all of Justin’s new friends to the wedding, and there was never a more joyous occasion in all the kingdom than their wedding day.


End file.
